Save a TikTok Transcript as SRT and VTT (Python)

Overview

To save a TikTok transcript as SRT or VTT, request each format and write the response to a UTF-8 file.

Writes .srt and .vtt files.
Checks the first line and counts cues.
A missing language stops with a typed error.

The script asks for format=srt and format=vtt, writes both files and checks the header and the cue count. A missing language stops with the typed error and no file.

Marco edits short clips for a small studio. He wants a subtitle file per clip that he can drop into his editor, and a quick check that the file is not empty.

The script

srt_vtt.py

"""Save a TikTok transcript as .srt and .vtt files and check them.
Usage: python srt_vtt.py TIKTOK_URL [--lang en] [--out subs]"""
import argparse, os, re, sys
import requests

API = os.environ.get("TTA_API_BASE", "https://api.example.com")
ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(); ap.add_argument("url"); ap.add_argument("--lang", default="en"); ap.add_argument("--out", default="subs")
a = ap.parse_args(); os.makedirs(a.out, exist_ok=True)
vid = re.search(r"\d{19}", a.url).group(0)
for fmt in ("srt", "vtt"):
    r = requests.get(f"{API}/api/v1/tiktok/transcript", params={"url": a.url, "lang": a.lang, "format": fmt},
                     headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['TTA_API_KEY']}"}, timeout=60)
    if r.status_code != 200:
        e = r.json()["error"]; sys.exit(f"{fmt}: {e['code']}: {e['message']}")
    path = os.path.join(a.out, f"{vid}.{a.lang}.{fmt}")
    open(path, "w", encoding="utf-8", newline="\n").write(r.text)
    cues = len(re.findall(r"-->", r.text))
    ok = r.text.startswith("WEBVTT") if fmt == "vtt" else r.text.startswith("1\n")
    print(f"wrote {path}: {cues} cues, header ok={ok}")

Captured runs

English (mock)

wrote subs/7000000000000000001.en.srt: 5 cues, header ok=True
wrote subs/7000000000000000001.en.vtt: 5 cues, header ok=True

Spanish, which the fixture offers (mock)

wrote subs/7000000000000000001.es.srt: 5 cues, header ok=True
wrote subs/7000000000000000001.es.vtt: 5 cues, header ok=True

French, which it does not (mock)

srt: language_unavailable: Languages available: eng-US, spa-ES

What can go wrong

The language is not available: you get language_unavailable and the message lists the tracks that are.
Two requests mean two successful calls and two charges; if you only need one format, ask for one.
Automatic captions can be wrong on names. Proofread before you publish subtitles.

Get an API key to run it against the real service. Run against the local mock in tools/mock-api, which follows the assumed contract on these pages. It is not the real API, and the output is captured from that mock.

Frequently asked questions

Why UTF-8?

Subtitles often contain accents and emoji. UTF-8 is what most editors and web players expect.

Can I make one request and convert locally?

Yes. Ask for JSON and build the files from the segments to save a call.

Does it burn subtitles into the video?

No. It writes the text files only.